Urban guerrilla group claims responsibility for July murder in Exarchia

A new group calling itself “Armed Militia Groups” on Saturday claimed responsibility for the execution-style murder of a 36-year-old Egyptian man in the downtown Athens neighborhood of Exarchia on July 17.

The victim, who is believed to have been involved in drug trafficking and to have gone by the alias of “Habib,” was gunned down in central Athens while riding his motorcycle in rush-hour traffic.

“We claim responsibility for the execution of the mafioso Habib, who for years has been the driving force behind incidents of violence against locals and regulars in the Exarchia area, culminating with the murderous attack on three comrades in the occupied Vox social center in March,” the group wrote on anti-establishment website Indymedia Athens on Saturday, referring to a defunct cinema in Exarchia that has been taken over by anarchist squatters.

The writer of the proclamation claimed that the Egyptian victim, “with the force of a pack cannibals that surrounded him,” was running a drug racket in Exarchia and “terrorized the neighborhood.”

It also called on young people frequenting the neighborhood to stay away from drugs and gangs, warning the latter of reprisals.

“It’s us or them: there is no middle ground,” the group stated.